Mount Saint Mary's (2-2) at Canisius (1-4)
Sunday, Dec. 2 2001 - 12 p.m.
Koessler Athletic Center - Buffalo, N.Y.
Radio: None
TV: None
Officials: Bob McEntee, Rick Krams, Dorothy Jones

 

<>      Game Break Down
Canisius                       MSM
57.0   Scoring Average    63.5
76.4   Scoring Defense    66.2
.365       FG %              .340
.401    Opp. FG %          .442
.304      3-PT %            .338
.294    Opp. 3-PT %       .265
.689        FT %             .711
11.6    Off. Rebs. Avg.    15.0
25.0    Def. Rebs. Avg.    25.0
36.6    Rebound Avg.      40.0
12.2    Assists Avg.        12.3
8.2      Steals Avg.         10.8
23.6    Turnovers Avg.    21.3
3.0       Blocks Avg.         2.3

 

Today's Matchup
Canisius hosts Mt. St. Mary's today looking to put an end to a four-game slide.  Mt. St. Mary's makes its first trip to the Koessler Athletic Center after beating Buffalo 66-55 Friday night in UB's Alumni Arena.  Mount's Myriam Baccouche set a school record with eight three-pointers in the win over the Bulls.

Series History
Today's game is the second meeting between "The Mount" and the Golden Griffins.  Canisius lost to Mt. St. Mary's 68-61 during the 1991-92 season.  Vanessa Blair, who currently serves as the Mountaineers' head coach, scored 15 points in the win.  Canisius is 3-5 all-time against teams from the Northeast Conference. 
 
Wounded Griffs
Senior guard Tricia Breznitsky had surgery on her left ACL in August.  She was cleared to play by her doctor Nov. 29, and made her first appearance in 2001-02 on Nov. 30, logging six minutes of playing time.  She is listed as day-to-day. Sophomore forward Renee Turpyn has missed the entire season to date with a wrist injury  She missed the last seven games of 2000-01 with the same injury.

Griffin History
Canisius finished the 2000-01 season 9-19 (.321) overall and 5-13 (.277) in the MAAC.  It was the 26th season of Canisius hoops.  The Griffs have an all-time record of 353-315 (.528).

Head Coach
Mike Decillis 34-56; .382 (4th Year); Native of Irvington, N.J.  He was named the seventh coach in program history on July 20, 1998. Fifth all-time at Canisius in wins, 14 away from fourth.  First win at Canisius was a 92-90 win over Cornell; Nov. 27, 1998.  Prior to taking over the helm at Canisius, Decillis was the head coach at Nazareth College in Pittsford, N.Y.  He was 253-129 in 14 years at the helm of the Golden Flyers, and went to the NCAA Division III National Tournament six times.  He is the winningest coach in the history of Nazareth College athletics.  A 1971 cum laude graduate of Ithaca College, Decillis played basketball for the Blue Bombers.

Movin' On Up
Shauna Geronzin is moving up the all-time scoring list in the Canisius record books, needing just 117 points to move into second place all-time. The senior needs 404 points to break the all-time record set by Heather Fiore from 1993-97.   The following is a list of the school's scoring leaders:

Name Career Points 
1. Heather Fiore  1,949
2. Kara Haun         1,661
3. Shauna Geronzin 1,545
4. Gina Castelli        1,524
5. Debbie Laux       1,430
6. Anne Brocker     1,409
7. Maggie Guidry    1,231
8. Rachel Decker    1,228
9. Pat Aronson       1,226
10. Cindy Ulreich   1,180

Glass Cleaner
Along with her pursuit towards the school's all-time scoring record, Shauna Geronzin is also making her way up the school's all-time rebound list as well.  She entered the season ranked sixth all-time in rebounds with 678.  So far in 2001-02 season she has collected a team-high 41 boards, moving her into fifth all-time with 719 rebounds.  She needs 23 more rebounds to move into fourth all-time, a spot which is held by Maggie Guidry, who played for the Bleu and Gold from 1996-00.

Pass Me the Rock
Tricia Breznitsky is currently ranked sixth on the school's all-time assist list with 446.  She needs just 47 helpers more to move into fifth place all-time.

Name Career Assists
1. Lori Pasceri         595
2. Heather Fiore      586
3. Gina Castelli        578
4. Karen Freeman   535
5. Mimi LaMagna    493
6. Tricia Breznitsky  446

Home Sweet Home
The Griffs own all-time marks of 167-66 (.716) in the Koessler Athletic Center.  Canisius is 19-16 (.542) on campus under Decillis in the last three seasons.

Nice Outfits
The Canisius College women's team broke out their newest uniform additions Nov. 30 in a loss to Central Michigan.  The Griffs now have home white and road blue uniforms along with a third set of uniforms, which are gold.

Preseason Picks
Canisius was picked eighth in the MAAC Preseason Poll, which is voted on by the league's coaches. Defending champ Siena was selected to finish first.

All-Star Spotlight
Senior forward Shauna Geronzin was named to the 2001 UNCG/Marriott Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 23 points per game in the two-game weekend Nov. 23-24.

Captains
Shauna Geronzin, Julie Lanphere and Jessica Butler were voted by their teammates to serve as this year's captains.

First Time For Everything
In his 17 previous years as a college basketball coach, head coach Mike Decillis never had the chance to coach a foreign born player prior to this season.  Junior transfer Pavla Grasevova joins the team after playing the last two seasons at nearby Genesse Community College.  She was born in Prague, Czech Republic.

Light, Camera, Action
Freshman guard Cavanaugh Hagen is a 2001 graduate of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va.  Hagen's alma mater took a step into the national spotlight a year ago with Disney's release of the hit movie Remember the Titians, starring Denzel Washington.  The movie focused on the school's 1971 state championship football team.  T.C. Williams was also the focus of an article in Sports Illustrated  in October, 2001.

Tale of the Tape
Seven of Canisius' 13 players are 5-9 or shorter.  The shortest Griff is senior Tricia Breznitsky, who is 5-3.  The tallest Canisius player is junior transfer Pavla Grasevova, who is listed at 6-3.

Where Are You From?
Canisius has only three players on the current roster that claim New York state as their home.  Two players come from Pennsylvania, while the states of New Jersey, Maryland, New Mexico, Connecticut, Iowa, Virginia and Massachusetts all contributed one player each. 

Distance is No Big Deal
Pavla Grasevova, a native of the Czech Republic, comes to Canisius from the furthest distance. Sophomore guard Alohndra Brown is the lone Buffalo native on this year's roster.

No Cupcakes Available
The Golden Griffins are scheduled to play six teams that made an appearance in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, including Elite 8 participant Vanderbilt.  Canisius is set to square off with conference rivals Siena, Fairfield and tournament qualifier Austin Peay. Canisius already played Liberty University, who enters the season as a five-time defending champion of the Big South Conference.

No Tuxedos Required
For the first time in school history, Canisius' women's team will play a game on New Year's Eve.  The Griffs will square off against national power Vanderbilt at 3 p.m. eastern time.  The Commadores are currently ranked third in the nation in the latest USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll. 

For More Info
Check out the Canisius athletics website at www.gogriffs.com or call the sports information hotline at 716-888-2979.

Last Time Out
Canisius College dropped its fourth-straight contest Nov. 30, to Central Michigan in the Koessler Athletic Center by a final score of 61-40.  Vershaun Jones from CMU had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.  Shauna Geronzin scored eight points and pulled down 12 boards in the loss.

Looking Ahead
The Griffs will be back on the road next weekend with a trip to MAAC rivals Rider and Loyola.  Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Rider on Dec. 7.